Friday, March 6, 2009

One of These Things Is Not Like the Other

I had the privilege to spend my freshman year at Loyola University Chicago. It was even more of a privilege that I was there on October 26, 2005 for two major things that took place in my life: the Chicago White Sox won their first World Series in 88 years and I discovered two Frank Sinatra tracks that were missing from my iTunes library. It was meant to be a season of good tunes I suppose, as I "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey was the Sox post-season theme song. You just cannot possibly have a bad night if that songs erupts from a stereo somewhere with all of the jumping and fist pumping that goes along with it. The two Sinatra hits that I somehow lived 19 years without were actually both Cole Porter songs: "Anything Goes" and "At Long Last Love." They have become two of my most treasured tracks by, arguably, the best vocalist to ever grace a stage. Oddly enough they were introduced to my by psychology professor, Richard Bowen. Professor Bowen was a very energetic and interesting professor with an even more interesting music library. He played various genres of music before every lecture. I have to say I enjoyed most everything he played.

The two Cole Porter hits he played were in celebration of the Sox winning the Series. This was a turning point on how much more effort I put forth towards the class. I had an infinite amount of respect for any North Sider that wore the black and white over the royal blue and red. The song that rang true more for the Sox though was definitely "Anything Goes," as it glorified the story of an underdog team of mostly older and unknown players being run by an eccentric Ozzie Guillen who all came to be household names, and essentially a pop culture hit (one that even I could become a follower of). The song always plays in my head when news and events of the weird take place.

Such is the case with my new pair of spectacles. A couple weeks ago my eyes, once again, worsened giving cause for me to of course get some new glasses. So off I went to my Dad's office (he has an optical laboratory) to pick out some new frames. Well, okay first I hit the stores. This did, however, prove to be instrumental in finding frames because a lot of the stores I went to were actually carrying faux glasses. It was all I could do to not walk away with at least seven different pairs. When you do have this many pairs of frames in your hand, it is a sure indication that it's time to walk away altogether. So, yes, then I made the trip to my Dad's office. The sales rep asked what I was looking for, and I told her I was in the market for a professional yet vintage look, kind of bigger but with thin temples. In my world this look existed. From this description emerged a find of finds.

They were just what I was looking for: two-toned with tortoise shell on the top half and temples and clear on the bottom, kind of big but did not take up my whole face, and average temples with small gold brackets on them. They were different, they were fun, they were professional. They were also Randy Jackson frames. No, literally, Randy Jackson, American Idol judge and Dawg of Dawgs, has an eyewear line, and this particular frame was part of the collection. Let me tell you though, I never watched American Idol enough before this to know, but the man has great style.

Apparently my Dad did know this though because as I was prancing around, gushing about how Randy Jackson was the new Isaac Mizrahi, my step-sister informed me that my Dad owned the same pair but in sunglasses, and two-toned in black and gold . Blast. I once again found myself at a crossroads in my life. I could get these glasses that were apparently designed for men and start an eye fashion revolution (one that most likely exist with just myself) or I could continue my search for spectacle love. I went with my gut because it proves me wrong only six times out of 10, which is far less than the 10 out of 10 times I have been wrong after thoroughly thinking through my recent sporting wagers. Not only that, but I was once again reminded that sometimes, anything goes. As the song says "The world has gone mad today and good's bad today, and black's white today, and day's night today." And male glasses are female glasses today. As a side note, I also got another pair of glasses that day that lie on the opposite end of the spectrum from the Randy Jackson's. They are Vera Bradley and raspberry colored, and I adore them just as much. Just like Ozzie Guillen and the Sox though, sometimes it's just more fun to just root for the underdog and let anything go.